Dan's Gardening and Birding Blog: February 2018

Welcome back and as always, thanks for visiting. If you enjoy bird watching, you're in luck. This post is all about birds!!

Project FeederWatch:

It's hard to believe, but Project FeederWatch is over half way through as it began November 11, 2017 and it concludes on April 13, 2018. As always, I have enjoyed observing and counting birds every week and entering the data on the website. I have captured some nice photos which I will save for the end of this post.

There is still time to participate in this project which is a North American only winter time project. Although it takes several weeks for your instructional kit to arrive, you can start counting birds right away, and record your data once the kit arrives and your membership ID is activated.

Great Backyard Bird Count:

Another great opportunity to participate in bird research is coming in a few weeks. The annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)will take place this year from February 16th to 19th (4 days). The GBBC was started in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society and is a worldwide event. I have been participating in this activity for quite a few years; it is very enjoyable, provides invaluable data, and is a great family activity.

Here are some simple instructions to get started from the GBBC website:

1. Create a free GBBC account if you have never participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count or any other Cornell Lab citizen-science project, or have not participated in the GBBC since 2013. If you already created an account for the GBBC in the past, or if you’re already registered with eBird or another Cornell Lab citizen-science project, you can use your existing user name and password.

2. Count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like - one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day, for each new location, or for the same location if you counted at a different time of day. Estimate the number of individuals of each species you saw during your count period.

3. Enter your results on the GBBC website by clicking the “Submit Observations” tab on the home page. You may also download the free eBird mobile app to enter data on a mobile device. If you already participate in the eBird citizen-science project, please use eBird to submit your sightings during the GBBC. Your checklists will count toward the GBBC.

eBird:

If your wondering about eBird, this is a worldwide ongoing count which allows participants to submit bird counts, observations, photos, and even sound recordings. This global effort tracks the movements of bird species and helps scientists to determine conservation strategies. The data and graphics this project generates is fascinating. It can be used on a PC or mobile device. Following is a great video about eBird:

Are you a novice and concerned that you may not be able to identify birds at your feeder? Not to worry, the GBBC website also has a wealth of tools to use if you need help identifying birds. For example, here is a nice article from Audubon to help you identify suet loving birds.

Now, for your enjoyment, are some of my photos from the last several weeks: